Rangers on the brink after 4-2 loss to Penguins in Game 4

NEW YORK — The closed-door meeting was just a sad ending to an inexcusable night of hockey for the Rangers.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, left, reacts as the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate a goal by Chris Kunitz during the third period Wednesday.

“It was not acceptable at this time of the year on all levels,” defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “Battle level. Execution. This series is not over and we’ve got to play with the mentality of a freight training going 100 miles per hour and not looking behind us.”

That’s because the wreckage of the last three games is too ugly to view: Back-to-back shutouts and then perhaps their sloppiest performance of the season.

Coach Alain Vigneault called this one a must-win, but now the Rangers really can’t lose again after the Penguins pushed them to the brink of elimination with a 4-2 win in Game 4 of their Metropolitan Division final Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Not even Chris Kreider’s return to the lineup after a 19-game absence following surgery on his left hand, or the Penguins being forced to play with five defensemen the last two periods after Brooks Orpik was injured helped.

Game 5 is Friday night at Pittsburgh.

“What better time to get on the road and not just him, all of us,” said Brad Richards, expressing frustration at the Garden crowd booing Rick Nash whenever he touched the puck in the third period. “Just forget about these two games. It couldn’t have gone worse but we’re still in a series.”

The Rangers — who finally snapped their goal-less drought at 145:30 — were outshot, 27-15, with just four third-period shots on Marc-Andre Fleury. They were (dis)credited with 25 giveaways to just eight for the Penguins.

The Rangers’ power play went 0-for-2 and now is in an 0-for-36 slump. Worse, Brandon Sutter scored a second-period shorthanded goal, prompting Henrik Lundqvist’s two-handed stick smash. And Nash now is without a goal in 11 playoff games and has just one in 23 postseason games overall for the Rangers.

“Ultimately, the fans can do what they want,” Vigneault said. “I’d prefer right now if our fans were supportive. It might not look it but we’re trying our guts off out there.

“We didn’t pick a good night to manage the puck the way we did [Wednesday],” Vigneault added.

The Rangers have lost all 15 of their best-of-seven series in which they’ve trailed, 3-1. Only once did the Rangers extend the series to seven games and that was against the Bruins in 1939.

“It’s a tough feeling,” Lundqvist said. “We were coming home with a tied series. Now we’re in a big hole here. I don’t know where to start. We can go to Pittsburgh and look at it as just one game. That’s all we can do right now. Stay confident. I don’t know what else to say right now.”

Carl Hagelin tied the score at 1 at 5:30 of the second period as he split Penguins defensemen Rob Scuderi and Matt Niskanen, and beat Fleury over his glove. McDonagh’s assist on his head-man pass was his first point of the playoffs.

The faltering Rangers’ power play allowed its first shorthanded goal of these playoffs when Sutter made it 2-1 at 18:27 of the second period. Nash turned the puck over to Gibbons and Lundqvist was forced to make a sprawling save on his breakaway but, on his stomach, he could not stop Sutter’s follow with McDonagh failing on his backcheck.

Jussi Jokinen scored the winner to make it 3-1 at 7:02 of the third period on a sharp-angle shot from the left that deflected off defenseman Marc Staal’s skate. Mats Zuccarello cut it to 3-2 at 13:07, but Evgeni Malkin’s setup to Chris Kunitz just 57 seconds later again put the Penguins up by two.

Anton Stralman’s turnover and Staal’s inability to stop Sidney Crosby’s centering pass turned into Malkin’s spinning backhander under Lundqvist’s pads for a 1-0 lead at 2:31 of the first period.

Rangers on the brink after 4-2 loss to Penguins in Game 4

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, left, reacts as the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate a goal by Chris Kunitz during the third period Wednesday.

By ANDREW GROSS

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

NEW YORK — The closed-door meeting was just a sad ending to an inexcusable night of hockey for the Rangers.

“It was not acceptable at this time of the year on all levels,” defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “Battle level. Execution. This series is not over and we’ve got to play with the mentality of a freight training going 100 miles per hour and not looking behind us.”

That’s because the wreckage of the last three games is too ugly to view: Back-to-back shutouts and then perhaps their sloppiest performance of the season.

Coach Alain Vigneault called this one a must-win, but now the Rangers really can’t lose again after the Penguins pushed them to the brink of elimination with a 4-2 win in Game 4 of their Metropolitan Division final Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Not even Chris Kreider’s return to the lineup after a 19-game absence following surgery on his left hand, or the Penguins being forced to play with five defensemen the last two periods after Brooks Orpik was injured helped.

Game 5 is Friday night at Pittsburgh.

“What better time to get on the road and not just him, all of us,” said Brad Richards, expressing frustration at the Garden crowd booing Rick Nash whenever he touched the puck in the third period. “Just forget about these two games. It couldn’t have gone worse but we’re still in a series.”

The Rangers — who finally snapped their goal-less drought at 145:30 — were outshot, 27-15, with just four third-period shots on Marc-Andre Fleury. They were (dis)credited with 25 giveaways to just eight for the Penguins.

The Rangers’ power play went 0-for-2 and now is in an 0-for-36 slump. Worse, Brandon Sutter scored a second-period shorthanded goal, prompting Henrik Lundqvist’s two-handed stick smash. And Nash now is without a goal in 11 playoff games and has just one in 23 postseason games overall for the Rangers.

“Ultimately, the fans can do what they want,” Vigneault said. “I’d prefer right now if our fans were supportive. It might not look it but we’re trying our guts off out there.

“We didn’t pick a good night to manage the puck the way we did [Wednesday],” Vigneault added.

The Rangers have lost all 15 of their best-of-seven series in which they’ve trailed, 3-1. Only once did the Rangers extend the series to seven games and that was against the Bruins in 1939.

“It’s a tough feeling,” Lundqvist said. “We were coming home with a tied series. Now we’re in a big hole here. I don’t know where to start. We can go to Pittsburgh and look at it as just one game. That’s all we can do right now. Stay confident. I don’t know what else to say right now.”

Carl Hagelin tied the score at 1 at 5:30 of the second period as he split Penguins defensemen Rob Scuderi and Matt Niskanen, and beat Fleury over his glove. McDonagh’s assist on his head-man pass was his first point of the playoffs.

The faltering Rangers’ power play allowed its first shorthanded goal of these playoffs when Sutter made it 2-1 at 18:27 of the second period. Nash turned the puck over to Gibbons and Lundqvist was forced to make a sprawling save on his breakaway but, on his stomach, he could not stop Sutter’s follow with McDonagh failing on his backcheck.

Jussi Jokinen scored the winner to make it 3-1 at 7:02 of the third period on a sharp-angle shot from the left that deflected off defenseman Marc Staal’s skate. Mats Zuccarello cut it to 3-2 at 13:07, but Evgeni Malkin’s setup to Chris Kunitz just 57 seconds later again put the Penguins up by two.

Anton Stralman’s turnover and Staal’s inability to stop Sidney Crosby’s centering pass turned into Malkin’s spinning backhander under Lundqvist’s pads for a 1-0 lead at 2:31 of the first period.